Smart Home Integration at CES 2026: RiseLink Vision
At CES 2026, Dr Pengfei Zhang, Founder and CEO of RiseLink Technologies Inc., joined senior leaders from Bosch, ecobee, Amazon Devices, and EY on the featured panel, "The Latest in Smart Devices and Smart Home Integration." He set out a clear vision for the next stage of smart home integration. He linked that shift to robust connectivity, ultra-low-power design, and on-device intelligence working together.
John Harrison, Partner at EY, moderated the discussion. The panel featured Darcy Clarkson, Chief Executive Officer, Region North America (Appliances Division), Bosch; Greg Fyke, President and CEO of ecobee; Charlotte Maines, Director of Devices Advertising, Amazon Devices; and DDrZhang, representing RiseLink Technologies Inc.
During the conversation, Dr Zhang argued that the industry must rethink system architecture as smart homes grow to support dozens of always-connected smart devices. He said the sector must protect reliability, speed, and user trust as it scales. "The future smart home will not be cloud-dependent by default," he noted. "It will be Matter-ready, intelligent at the edge, and designed around real-world constraints like power, latency, and privacy."
Dr Zhang pointed to three capabilities that will shape next-generation smart home platforms. First, dual-band Wi-Fi 6 connectivity now underpins the modern home as device density rises. It gives smart devices greater capacity and improved efficiency, helping homes maintain stable performance for both high-bandwidth use and latency-sensitive tasks. Second, ultra-low-power system design enables devices to run untethered, assisting households to place sensors, controllers, and interactive devices wherever they need them. RiseLink’s system-on-chip architecture targets ultra-low-power operation, allowing the devices to run for years on a single battery without sacrificing performance. Third, edge AI supports privacy-first intelligence by keeping processing close to the user. RiseLink processes voice, vision, and sensor data locally on the chip, helping the remaining sensitive in-house data while still delivering advanced features.
Dr Zhang also described how RiseLink’s Edge-AI Wi-Fi processors enable real-time conversational AI on the device. Local processing supports near-instant response times, reduces reliance on the cloud, and strengthens privacy protections for everyday interactions.
RiseLink introduced Choo Choo the Dragon as a flagship demonstration of on-device AI and edge intelligence for children. Powered by RiseLink’s Edge-AI processor, Choo Choo engages children through natural, real-time dialogue that supports interactive storytelling and learning, while keeping conversations private and locally processed.
"The integration of high-performance Wi-Fi 6 with on-device AI is redefining how people interact with smart environments," said DDrZhang. "With products like Choo Choo the Dragon, we're demonstrating that intelligent, conversational experiences can be responsive, power-efficient, and privacy-preserving at the same time."